Oct 12, 2009

Tatami Mats and my Siamese Cat

My internet time is sporadic now that I don't have the internet in the house. I go to Sendai Station every other day, find a bench and use MobilePoint BB paid Wifi access. It costs $10 (1000 yen) for two weeks. I pay for the wifi service at a convenience store. Today I shared the bench with senior travellers, drunk men, and a Homeless person.

Our move is coming along well. We found out that our 10 year old fridge is not recycable and has to be trashed. If noone wants a perfectly good fridge, then we will have to pay a licensed waste hauler 60 USD to haul it away. I have met many wonderful people from the U.S, Canada, England, Ghana, Argentina, Indonesia, China, Mongolia, and Korea who have taken us up on our offer of free furniture and appliances.

I am going to miss having Tatami mats in my studio. The feeling, color and scent of rice straw is comforting. My cat never scratches on the tatami, but she loves to lay on it to bathe herself. I caught this photo of her last summer.

Sweet Sputnik...wonder what she's dreaming about? :o) Glad all is going well with the move...Moves, especially international moves, are such huge undertakings... Sounds like your down to "bare bones" at home... Enjoy you last bit of time in Japan. :o) ((HUGS))

Tatami mat is the traditional straw matting that is used on the floor in Japanese homes. Tatami evolved over a long period, first beginning as a thin easily folded straw mat on which people sat or slept.